Police: 2 dead, 3 hurt during Old Sac bar shooting

A 22-year-old man was hospitalized and in police custody Tuesday following a shooting at an Old Sacramento bar that left two people dead and three others injured, including the alleged gunman, according to police.

The incident began as an argument inside the Sports Corner Café at Second and K streets about 9:40 p.m. Monday, as tens of thousands of people gathered to celebrate New Year's Eve.

According to a police statement, a man who was involved in the fight pulled out a gun and began shooting.

The suspected gunman was identified as Carlito Montoya.

Montoya is in police custody at a hospital where he is receiving medical treatment for multiple gunshot wounds, according to a statement from police.

KCRA 3 spoke with a man who said he was good friends with Montoya.

"My reaction was like, shocked. I couldn't believe he was in something like that. They went out just to have fun," Joshua Scholz said. "The only reason that I think anything would have been pulled out or used was in self-defense. He's not one of those people to shoot first and ask questions later."

A 30-year-old woman and a 35-year-old man were shot during the fight, said police.

A male employee of the bar, who police said tried to break up the fight, was also wounded by gunfire, said police.

The woman suffered a gunshot wound to her lower body and is expected to survive, police said.

The 35-year-old man and the male employee died at the scene.

According to the statement, an armed security guard at the bar confronted Montoya, the two exchanged gunfire and both were injured.

Police said Montoya and the security guard then ran out into the street.

"Officers came in, swiftly got them both into custody and then were able to figure out exactly what happened," said Sacramento police spokeswoman Michele Gigante.

"By the time you knew what was going on, he was being arrested," said Diane Correia, who told KCRA 3 she watched the scene unfold from a restaurant across the street.

"They snagged him, and they had him by the back, and he was kind of resisting a little bit like this," said Correia as she demonstrated the man's movements.

"I almost think he just resignedly gave up," said Mark Ray, Correia's husband.

The security guard and Montoya were then taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Their injuries were not considered life-threatening, police said.

"All of a sudden, I heard a bunch of pops. Pop, pop, pop, pop," said Robert Scheide, a New Year's Eve reveler.

"We heard five, six gunshots," said Danny Vergara, who was in Old Sacramento for the festivities with his family. "They're saying there was a lot more than that, but I wasn't waiting around to count them."

Officers had to move people out of Old Sacramento for the night while police pieced together details from the shooting.

Officers said they recovered two guns at the scene.

The fireworks show in Old Sacramento was canceled after the incident at the request of the police department, said Mike Testa of the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau.